County water plant strives to maintain water purity // VIDEO, PHOTO GALLERY

Published: Saturday, September 7, 2013 at 08:02 PM.

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“We’re also removing a tremendous amount of color,” Lackemacher said, adding, “When this water comes in, it makes it more challenging.”

The county uses the same chemical compounds when treating it, but changes dosages due to the storms, Lackemacher said.

The plant has a lab where samples are tested and with varying chemical levels to find the so-called water purity sweet spot. Once the test confirms the optimal dosage, the chemical loads and mixing speeds are calibrated accordingly. This happens so often the process has become seamless for some.

“As a matter of fact some of the guys up there really don’t even need to run the jar test; they actually know when it gets to this level, we need to do this, that and the other, but that’s experience,” Lackemacher said.

Path to purity

From a platform at the plant, one can see where the water gushes in to be treated, after making the six-mile trek from the reservoir. The platform also gives a panoramic view of the giant tanks the water slowly passes through during the treatment process. They resemble very deep swimming pools.

HILAND PARK — Each day millions of gallons of water are pumped out of the Deer Point reservoir and into homes, restaurants and drinking fountains. Though it may arrive dark at the plant, the water must leave crystal clear, a task that’s been more demanding lately with a spate of summer monsoons.

“Right now the raw water looks like Lipton Tea. It has an extremely high organic load,” said Paul Lackemacher, Bay County Utility Services director.

The reservoir is the county’s only source of fresh drinking, but heavy rains wash dirt, debris and other compounds into it.

“One of the problems with a surface water treatment plant is variations in water quality,” Lackemacher said.

The plant must be on its toes to adjust for these storms and tweak the chemical load that purifies the water.

The state requires the plant remove 50 percent of the total organic compounds from the water, which contribute to its dark color, Lackemacher said. Right now, the county is extracting 80 percent of the compounds.

“We’re also removing a tremendous amount of color,” Lackemacher said, adding, “When this water comes in, it makes it more challenging.”

The county uses the same chemical compounds when treating it, but changes dosages due to the storms, Lackemacher said.

The plant has a lab where samples are tested and with varying chemical levels to find the so-called water purity sweet spot. Once the test confirms the optimal dosage, the chemical loads and mixing speeds are calibrated accordingly. This happens so often the process has become seamless for some.

“As a matter of fact some of the guys up there really don’t even need to run the jar test; they actually know when it gets to this level, we need to do this, that and the other, but that’s experience,” Lackemacher said.

Path to purity

From a platform at the plant, one can see where the water gushes in to be treated, after making the six-mile trek from the reservoir. The platform also gives a panoramic view of the giant tanks the water slowly passes through during the treatment process. They resemble very deep swimming pools.

The first stop on the path to purity is the static mixer. Then it’s on to the rapid mix chambers, which is “basically a huge egg beater in that tank; it’s a big mixer,” Lackemacher said.

Essentially as it moves through these various tanks the goal is to build solid particles, Lackemacher said, which will cling to the impurities and be heavy enough to sink to the bottom while the water flows through the plant.

When the water hits the floculator, which Lackemacher likened to an old steamboat paddle, there are two rows of blades that mix it up and help create the solids.

The solids settle out in the clarifier, and a big arm at the bottom of the tank sweeps them to the center.

By then, a water sample is significantly clearer than when it arrive — even before it flows through the filters. Then “post-lime” is added, as well as other compounds, including fluoride, ferric sulfate, chlorine (as a disinfectant), orthophosphate and fluoride.

Currently, the county is adding “pre-lime” — lime at the beginning of the process to raise the water’s alkalinity, which is down due to the recent rainfall. The “post-lime” is always added at the end of the process.

Daily output

Right now, the plant generates 26 million gallons of potable per day. Output peaks in the summer with 40 million gallons a day, and the offseason low point is about 20 million to 21 million gallons a day. With its current filters though, the system can clean up to 60 million gallons per day, Lackemacher said.

The water leaves the plant and heads out to about 6,800 county retail customers and is sold wholesale to all seven of the county’s municipalities, as well as Tyndall Air Force Base. Average annual operating costs are about $7 million for the wholesale side and about $3.7 million for retail operations side.

The plant functions as an enterprise fund, meaning it’s self-supported — through the sale of drinking water — and doesn’t rely on property taxes. The county’s wholesale rate is $1.84 per 1,000 gallons and the retail rate varies slightly but is no higher than $2.08 per 1,000 gallons plus an $8.40 a month base rate.

The plant has bagged numerous awards in recent years for its water quality and current standards. For example, the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association recognized the county with a first place award as an Outstanding “Class A” water treatment plant. The county competed against about 200 plants for the award, which was given out this year and measured performance in 2012.

“They excelled in all categories and that got them the award,” said Jason Parrillo, chairman of the organization.

Parrillo said the awards committee was impressed by the local operation and he was, too, when he toured it.

“It’s a well-maintained facility, and it really does set the standard,” he said.